IRVINE – A Temple City man and woman have been arrested on suspicion of overseeing a multimillion dollar prostitution ring run out of upscale apartments in Irvine and Pasadena, authorities announced today.

Thanh Ly, 35, and Li Chen, 32, have been charged with felony pimping and pandering. Both have pleaded not guilty, and are being held on $2 million bond.

Police say their two-year investigation began with an anonymous tip about a call-girl service consisting of Asian women. The investigation centered on a pair of apartment buildings in Pasadena, as well as a two-bedroom unit at the Calypso Apartments in Irvine, Pasadena police Lt. Tom Pederson said.

Authorities believe the ring-leaders were posting escort ads on several Web sites.

“They don’t say prostitution, but they say everything short of that,” Pederson said.

Authorities believe that around 25 women were being shuttled between the various apartments, Pederson said.

Pasadena police officers and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents conducted a raid of the apartments on Dec. 16, arresting four suspected prostitutes – two in Pasadena and two in Irvine – and recovering $10,000 in cash, $20,000 in jewelry and three cars. The four women were cited on misdemeanor charges of prostitution.

Sean Emery started at the Register in 2006. As a community reporter he covered the city of San Juan Capistrano, before later moving to the Irvine city government and the Orange County Great Park beat. He's currently the night breaking news and crime reporter, covering incidents and issues countywide.

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.